From March 14, gamers will be also be able to snap up a limited edition Xbox One bundle with top game Titanfall as part of the £399 deal.

The announcement had @tomnicholls2 fuming: “Great! @Xbox @xboxuk drop the price of the Xbox one three days after I buy one full price. How about a free copy of #Titanfall for us mugs?”

But despite the UK only cut in price, Sony’s best selling PS4 remains around £50 cheaper at £349.

In responce the UK’s Xbox marketing director Harvey Eagle defended the unexpected price drop and said: “We are very appreciative of anyone that has supported us since launch.

“We are committed to offer the best value we can and the reason for doing this now is that we have a special new game coming out next month.”

Latest sales figures show the PS4 outselling Xbox One with 5.3 million consoles bought worldwide since its November launch compared with 3.9 million Xbox consoles sold.

Mr Eagle said: “We’re currently at the start of our journey and we’re currently in 13 markets around the world and that’s in comparison to PS4 that’s in 49 markets around the world. We’re just a few months into the generation that’s going to last for many years to come.

“And now just feels like the right time to make the adjustment on the price.”